THE PRESERVATION OF MEMORY: ARCHIVING AND ASSESSING THE MISSION TO PROTECT CULTURAL HERITAGE IN THE MIDDLE EAST

Abstract: In 2008, the Iraqi Institute for the Conservation of Antiquities and Heritage
(IICAH) was established in Erbil, Iraq as part of the US State Department’s Iraq
Cultural Heritage Program (ICHP). The institute would bring together the US State
Department, the Iraq State Board of Antiquities and Heritage, the Kurdistan Regional
Government, and various international institutions and experts. The goal was to
provide Iraqi professionals with long-term theoretical and practical training in
conservation and historic preservation. Years of war and sanctions had left the Iraq
cultural heritage sector unable to actively engage with the international preservation
community and with limited access to resources. Over the past ten years, the IICAH
has become a unique model for providing conservation training in post-conflict areas.
This paper discusses the history of the institute and the political climate leading up to
its creation. Oral history interviews were conducted with individuals involved with the
IICAH in varying capacities including advisors, instructors, and students. Their
responses are discussed to better understand the work of the IICAH including their
initial priorities, obstacles they faced, successes, the students and organizations they
worked with, daily life at the institute, their thoughts on the future of the institute, and
advice. Major themes from these interviews are analyzed in greater detail in the
discussion of this paper including operating the institute, funding, connecting with
local stakeholders, student growth, coursework, and sustainability. An archive was
also created for the interview files and additional archival documents. The Iraqi
Institute for the Conservation of Antiquities and Heritage Archive can be found with
the University of Delaware’s Disaster Research Center archives. This research sought
to begin to understand the key features of the IICAH that have allowed it to continue
over these past ten years and to create the archive as a resource to future cultural
heritage professionals who may look to the IICAH as a model for long-term,
international conservation education.